2013 President's Cup: Jordan Spieth Should Be a No-Brainer As a Captain's Pick

By Carl Conrad

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Spieth is currently 22nd in the President’s Cup standings for the United States side. His only hope making the squad is to get in as one of Fred Couples’ two captain’s picks. There is a lot of debate as to whether Spieth deserves the nod and if he will actually get selected.

In my opinion it’s a no-brainer to put the 20 year old on the team. Yes, he is currently ranked 22nd with a number of more experienced golfers on the list ahead of him. What isn’t being talked about, however, is the fact that Spieth advanced all the way to the 22nd position in only a fraction of the qualifying time that everyone else was provided. Had he been eligible for the full qualifying period, there is almost no doubt that he would have earned a top 10 spot on his own merits.

He will also bring a great deal of youthful exuberance to the team. The average age of the 10 golfers that earned automatic bids for the American team is 35.5 years old. The youngest member of that group is Keegan Bradley, at 27 years young. The addition of Spieth would bring some fire to the team. We all know about the epic collapse of the American Ryder Cup team as that event progressed. Adding an infusion of youth to such an experienced team would be a huge bonus.

In addition, why not take this opportunity to groom players for future events? Surrounding Spieth with such a large number of veterans would be invaluable for the youngster. He would learn quickly how to properly approach this type of event and could very well end up being one of the anchors for the future for the United States side.

There really is no down side to adding Spieth to the roster. The kid’s clearly got the game to hold his own. It would help out the grizzled vets already on the team by infusing some youth and it would be an incredible learning experience for him.

The only question that remains is whether or not Couples will put him on the roster. We’ll find out tomorrow at 2 pm eastern time.